How to Develop an Effective Content Marketing Strategy On LinkedIn

LinkedIn made a genius step with its long-form posts program – which encouraged lots of high-quality content providers to get active on LinkedIn. From “I don’t share on LinkedIn because none of my 1000 LinkedIn connections is there to listen to me”, LinkedIn got suddenly turned into the content marketing hub.

Besides, when you start to break down the statistics, such as the fact that LinkedIn has a much higher link click rate to home-pages, or that it is the second fastest growing social network, using LinkedIn for content marketing starts to make even more sense.

Here are some tips you can use to develop your own super-powered content marketing strategy through your LinkedIn profile.

Keep it in your industry

Always keep in mind the fact that you are posting to other professionals, most of whom will be either directly or indirectly related to your industry. They are not there to make friends, but to make connections. As such, they are focused on business-oriented ideas and interaction, and want the content they read to match their needs.

The best thing you can post on LinkedIn is industry-specific opinions, facts, how-to articles, advice and information. Show off your expertise, let people know things they might not realise, and share your experiences. You will be a valuable commodity, and your content will be read and shared.

Tip: Another trick here is to try and re-focus any of your updates to “business” or, even better, career topics. Don’t just share tips on getting noticed on Twitter, re-word it into something like “How to Use Twitter to Boost Your Career”.

Use opportunities to engage directly

As was stated before, LinkedIn is a networking tool. So why do you use it if you aren’t trying to network? Content can be a great ice breaker, starting conversations and getting you to interact one on one with people who could be important professional contacts later on.

Plus, engaging them on a topic you have provided content for will ideally make them more passionate about that topic. They will probably share it, mention you or the piece of content that sparked the discussion. It will also open the door to further conversations, which brings about the same benefits again and again.

Never forget: LinkedIn is a social tool. So you should be attempting to use it for social reasons, even if you are doing so in a different way than you would, say, Facebook or Twitter.

Create (and join) a group

Sharing content in groups can be a bit tricky, because there is a distinct etiquette to follow. Namely, you don’t spam the group, post nothing but content, or post too often. You comment and share other people’s content, and engage in conversation. The content itself also needs to add something valuable to the discussion, and there should be a real reason that you choose to share it.

Sometimes when you go into a group you will see someone who has posted a link and nothing else. Maybe they are serial posters. Either way, it is blatant promotion and it impresses no one. Their links are rarely commented on, much less shared out by others. Don’t be that guy; no one wants to be that guy.

Remember: Share other people’s content, as well. This is an easy way to show that, hey, you aren’t using the group for shameless plugs! You are taking part in the community!

Post during traditional work hours

LinkedIn is a work-related social network. So people don’t tend to jump on it real quick when they are sitting at home in the way they would Facebook. They leave it for the office. Between the hours of 8am and 4pm are probably the best times for posting content, because more people will likely be checking up on their accounts during those times.

That also means weekends are dead on the site. Monday to Friday are good, though I would personally suggest Tuesday through Thursday, between 8am and 9am or 12pm and 1pm.

Why those times? Well, think about it…aren’t you more likely to have the time to check social profiles around then?

Note: Mondays are busy, Fridays are a rush to finish before the weekend. Noon to 1pm is often lunch hour and many people eat at their desks. And 8am to 9am is when you check emails, social networks, etc, right? Logically, they seem like ideal times to begin attracting attention.

Be consistent

Everyone has a different opinion on how often to post on LinkedIn. But the general consensus is that it naturally shouldn’t be as often as you do on other networks. Search Engine Journal had an article that recommends you post at least 20 times per month. But I think we can narrow the number down more.

In fact, rather than looking at it as how much content, it should be more about how much engagement. Only post high-quality content that is worth sharing, when you have published it. Then re-share it two weeks later.

Everything else should be sharing other people’s content, engaging, talking, befriending and connecting. But I would agree that at least 20 times per month is the bare minimum you should be taking part in activity there. Better would be at least twice per day on weekdays.

LinkedIn is an interesting tool, but one that can be hard to get the hang of. You have an immediate leg up there in that everyone is looking to make professional connections. Just imagine what you could do by exploiting that fact!

Just think of content as a tool, not your only purpose to be there, and you will see improvements in its reach.

Ann Smarty has seven years of experience in search and social media marketing. She is an active blogger and columnist at several high-profile industry blogs including Business.com and Small Biz Trends. She is the former Mashable contributor and Search Engine Journal Editor-in-Chief. Ann is the proud Brand and Community manager at InternetMarketingNinjas and founder of MyBlogU, the free community that connects bloggers for mutual help and brainstorming.